Assuming you're platinum on starwood, its possible to get 8x points per $. Lets say you were staying at a Westin one night for $250. This would get you:
- 3x points for the actual spend (platinum reward) - 750
- 2x points for using the SPG credit card - 500
- Four Square check-in - 250
- Platinum Amenity - 500

Thats 2k in points for just one stay! That means 5 single night stays can get you 10k, which is a free night. Also, with the current promotion, you'll get 1 free night for every 3 stays. Which means if you stay 5 nights, you'll get 2.8 free nights, which I say is a pretty awesome deal. During other promotions, the multiples of points you get is usually pretty good as well, which should give you similar returns.

Plus, I enjoy Westin/W/Sheraton to most Marriotts, except for the Cosmo in Vegas (which is evidently part of the chain now?)